Top of the Box

     Shannon and I spent a few days at the start of November prepping the house for the incoming cold weather. This old house is quite drafty so we took some extra steps to ensure Mother Nature stays outside and away from us. It was a good thing we did because it has become downright cold! I can't remember a time when it got so cold in early November and then stayed cold. Sure, we always get some cold days, but highs in the 20s is not usually in the Tennessee forecast until January or February. The cold cut the Autumn colors short and killed off our garden a little earlier than we had hoped for. Even our late Fall crops were hit hard. The lettuce, peas and broccoli gave way, while our spinach is hanging on by a thread. At least our kale is doing well. Frost and snow make kale taste better so it is prime for the picking right now. We even got two pumpkins this year. They may be a little late for Halloween, but at least they grew.

Our two punkins

     It may be cold, but I am hot with a fever...cross fever. It has stricken me this year for the first time in several years. The funny thing is I have only raced one cross race this season. I was hoping to do more, but the local races are either too expensive or get cancelled. I'm sorry, but I'm not paying $45 to do a local race with no payout. I'm not supporting a race that doesn't support the riders. We have not had the budget to do a lot of traveling for bigger races. Everything I spend now will limit what I can do next summer.

      I continue to keep my cross torch lit at home with multiple practice races, all on different courses I have been able to construct on the farm behind our house or at my parents' house. I think I'm up to nine races so far. Shannon has done two with me. She is learning all about the dismounting and running that comes with cross. She's still riding platform pedals on the mountain bike so that is making it a bit easier for her to learn on. I really am blessed with the land and resources I have to work with. I have some nice singletrack and technical sections available at my parents' house, in addition to a lightly traveled road I can use for pavement stretches, while the farm offers grass, climbing, dirt and gravel roads, and even a little pavement in our driveway. Below is a sample of some of our courses. I will get the GoPro out one day soon and film some of the courses.

A sample course at my parents' house

Another course utilizing what has become known as the Backyard trails

Course at our current home on the Clark Farm

Yesterday's course went around the pond for some mud and power stretches

     I love watching all the big races on TV. It's nice to see more coverage of the North American events. Thanks to Behind the Barriers TV, I have been able to watch all the big races. There have been a bunch of night races this year. Night racing always gets me extra fired up. It sucks to only be able to watch the racing at this point. So, I did the next best thing and set up a night race here on the farm. Shannon and I made a super fast and flowing course, which was both exciting and terrifying to ride at race-pace in the dark. One of my other course ideas was for my own Koppenbergcross-type event. The Koppenbergcross is in Belgium and features a climb up the infamous, cobbled Koppenberg climb every lap. My parents live on a dead-end road with a big hill and it just so happens that our Backyard trail crosses that road at the end. I linked up some grass and trail to dump me out at the bottom of the hill and then climbed it from bottom to top every lap. It was a great workout, definitely sapping my legs much more than any other course I have created so far. I really liked this climb because it is long and has two steep spots near the bottom and top. It also starts on dirt and gravel, then transitions to pavement. It's a perfect blend of all the elements of cross. And it just so happened that the day I rode this course it was muddy and snowing. Perfect! I have really had a lot of fun on my bike lately. Whatever happened to me at Gateway Cup turned the fun switch on and it has not turned off.

     I have been very focused on running the past few weeks, adding intervals into my training for the first time ever. Even when I raced XTERRA seriously I never did any specific training for the run. I just worked myself up to handle the distance. Usually once I got my base, it was time to race. There was never time to do speed training. I really do want to get that sub-20 minute 5K at Rudolph's Red Nose Run 5K next week so I have added in the speed work this time around.

     My second test of the running season was this past Saturday at the Farm Bureau Holiday 5K just up the road from us in Springfield, TN. I was nervous for this race because I had a near-perfect run at APSU. It was going to be hard to beat that time of 21:37. I had good legs early in the week, which also made me nervous. So far, I have only been able to find good legs about once every other week during my runs. It was also a tough course, featuring several small climbs and one steep hill up Crestview Dr. around mile 2. The goal was to go under 21 minutes this race.

Twisty course in downtown Springfield

The start of the Farm Bureau 5K

Me in the green

     I started hard, blowing by most of the runners ahead of me in the first 100 meters. I found myself in 3rd place overall at the bottom of the first downhill. I had never been this close to the front before in a race with 350+ runners! Like APSU, this course began with a descent. It was nice to look down at the bottom and see my average pace at 4:47. I could never, ever, ever run that on flat ground! I dropped back a few spots once we had to actually use our legs to propel ourselves forward. The run offered a 5K and a 10K route, both starting at the same time on the same course. At the split, one runner ahead of me turned for the 10K route. That put me in 5th spot as we hit the first climb. The leading two were long gone by the top and 3rd was getting pretty far ahead. The 4th place guy had gapped me, but then I seemed to stabilize the gap after a mile. The first mile was my fastest ever mile at 6:05. It is sad, but my previous best mile came when I was in 6th grade and played basketball. I ran a 6:27 around the gym that year and it stood from the time I was 11 until now when I am 28 years old. I haven't really tried to just sprint a mile since then so maybe that is why it stood for so long.

     That was a fast start for me, but I was able to settle in. The easiest part of the course came between 0.7 miles and 1.8 miles. At 1.8, the climb up Crestview began. I had held the 4th place runner at about 10 seconds to the bottom. He blew up on the climb and immediately started walking. That just fueled me  and I powered up the hill. I passed him and then pulled away. Over the top, he chased me, but I steadily pulled off down the next descent. Then came a wicked-long gradual climb straight into a stiff headwind. It was about 0.8 miles long and sapped my strength. It was tough to watch my pace fall from a 6:24 at the start of Crestview to a 6:41 by the top of the last climb. I gave it all I had to hold my pace to the finish line and gave up one more second on my pace to finish with a 6:43 average mile. It was my fastest 5K time ever as I clocked a 20:47. That was six seconds faster than my best time ever, which I set on a course that was almost completely flat.

Finishing. I actually felt much better than I look here.

Men 25-29 podium. It took until the end of the season, but I'm finally getting to stand on top of the box!

My friend Linda Kay Clark also won her age group. She is Mrs. Clark, as in Clark Farms.

 So, I guess I passed this test. I knocked 50 seconds off my time from APSU. I took 4th overall and won my age group again. If I keep this kind of improvement going I will be very, very close to that sub-20 come next Friday in Nashville. I have nothing but good things to say about this Farm Bureau 5K. Farm Bureau sponsored the race and provided all sorts of food and door prizes for the runners. The results were posted faster than any race I have ever been too. They printed a results sheet every ten runners. It had your time, overall place and class place next to your name. That's the way it should be at every race when you have chip timing. The event also donated proceeds to the local YMCA which hosts many programs in the Robertson County area. This is definitively a race to check out if you are interested in some middle-Tennessee running.

Farm Bureau's runner hospitality area

It was a nice spread of food and drinks. And this was just one of three tables they had.

     As for 2015, I have been unable to generate any real interest from teams and sponsors for next season so I guess I'll be flying solo again. One local team seemed to be interested, but never followed up with me after gauging my interest back in the summer. From what I have seen, they don't have much to offer. I'm not looking for anything big, but I cannot justify joining a team if it will cost me more money than it costs me to race alone. They can't pay entry fees or help with expenses and you have to buy your own kit. They don't have anyone else on the team in my category so I wouldn't even have a teammate unless it was a Pro/1/2/3 race. All those things were red flags to me. The one thing I did like about the team is they talked about keeping the team a small, core group of "just racers." Having like-minded people on a team makes it easier for everyone to focus and achieve their goals. Then they picked up a bunch of locals that don't race. You know this group. There's people like them in every city. They talk about how fast they are, how they could be Pros if they raced, but they never race. Most of the people that joined the team call me a "wanna be"and hang out with Mr. Local Douchebag Rider that I mentioned in my last blog. I'm thinking this is not the place for me. If Facebook is too much drama for me then this team certainly is too.

    But all is not bad in the hunt for help. Maxxis is back on board with me for 2015, again helping me out with discounts. This will be the tenth straight year they have helped me in some sort of way. I honestly do love their tires and am very happy to be riding them again next year. I am still awaiting confirmation from First Endurance, but I also hope to have them back next year as well. They have the best supplements on the market. Period. You can't beat Optygen, Liquid Shot, Ultragen and Multi-V. It took me a while to get on board with the MultiV vitamins, but they have truly changed my training. I have been using them daily since March. Usually I get some sort of cold or sinus infection about once a month during the winter and spring months, as well as once during the summer. I have not been sick one single time since I started using MultiV. The closest thing to sickness I had was the nausea and water-retention around the time of Race to the Canal in October. I think I had a virus and I believe the MultiV limited the damage the virus did to me. I have some of the prototype formula for the next generation of MultiV and I can't wait to try it over the coming months.

     My Racer-X mountain bike is still broken, but I did secure some rivets and a rivet gun to attempt to fix it. I will be doing it in the next day or so. Until then, the Remedy is still my choice for mountain biking. We are doing Tour de Turkey again this year and it starts tomorrow. It is another of our fake backyard races. It begins with a time trial tomorrow, then features an XC on Thanksgiving, a night Short Track on Black Friday, an XC on Saturday and another XC on Sunday. It's going to be a blast! The forecast looks chilly, but still warmer than last year when it was 16 degrees for the start on Thanksgiving morning.

     Happy Turkey Day everybody! Remember to get in some sort of exercise to burn off all those extra calories you are about to consume. Thanks for reading!

Conquer

     In this post, I'm going to talk about racing, riding and life. I'll start with racing. No two-wheeled racing lately, only on foot. I started November off with the Austin Peay State University Homecoming Scholarship 5K. The name makes for a crowded T-shirt. Actually, the shirts weere pretty cool. They said "I Conquered Emerald Hill" across the front. I have not done this race since the new course was put in place, which features a tough finish up Emerald Hill. On top of the hill sits the Emerald Hill Mansion, which houses the APSU Alumni Center. With me being alumni, I was ready to come back. I didn't care about seeing anyone I went to school with. In fact, I didn't see a single alumni that I recognized. I was there for the challenge and the course. It's the only time you can sprint across campus without anyone thinking you might be crazy. Though some of the more sedentary individuals probably still thought we were crazy, especially considering it was a very cold morning.

    Autumn had definitely arrived. Rain came the day before, washing out our Halloween outdoor plans. It was a rather disappointing and uneventful Halloween to say the least. Behind the rain was a cold front. The temp was in the mid-30s when Shannon and I arrived to the race, with a stiff North wind blowing at 15-20 mph to make the air feel that little bit colder. I did my best to talk Shannon into racing, but she was smart. She didn't fall for any of my trickery. She did not want to do her longest run of the year on the coldest day of the season.

    I did a short warm-up. My longest run in training has been two miles. I have been very slow to add distance just to be sure I don't get my hamstring aggravated again. Too long of a warm-up today may see my legs wear down before the finish. I'm working toward my goal of a sub-20 minute 5K. My target race for that time is Rudolph's Red Nose Run 5K in Nashville in December. That will be a tough course to lay down that kind of time, but it is my only choice. I'm pushing hard in run training for the first time in my life. This APSU run was just my first test to see if I was on course. My goal here was to finish in around 23 minutes. That would be a good time on this course, which is tougher than Rudolph will be. To be honest, I felt I was behind on my training and that going under 24 minutes would be difficult for me.

APSU 5K course map

Ready to start. That's me in the orange to the left of the group.

photo by APSU

     We started atop Emerald Hill. The thundering herd of around 100 runners came charging off the hill first, then took a left onto 2nd St. and up a long climb. This course featured very few flat sections. You were either going up or down most of the time, but lucky for me, the climbs were all gradual. I found myself on the back of the lead group of 12 as we turned onto 2nd. I went harder than normal on the start since it was downhill. Gravity can help you so you can go faster with less effort. On the first climb, I settled into a good pace. The front six runners began to pull away, but I stayed with the chase group and found myself in 10th place overall at the top. We got a short break before another long climb took us onto campus. I picked up another spot on this climb and then two more spots as we crossed through the main campus. I was surprised to see 6:45 on my watch as I completed the first mile. That was a fast pace for me and I felt fine so I kept hammering away.

And we're off!

photo by APSU

    Mile two was the flatter portion of the course, going around some of the parking lots and the new football stadium. The wind was in our face and really slowed me down. I could feel myself fading and I really had to focus to be sure I kept my pace up. Even with the tough wind I ran mile 2 in 6:52. I was still well ahead of my goal pace at this point.

     I had pulled away from all the people I had passed except for one guy. He had stayed about 10 seconds behind since the 2nd St. climb. He poured on the speed as we descended 2nd St. on our way back to the finish. I did all I could to stay with him. He really made me push myself farther than I ever thought I could go. He had about four steps on me as we started onto Emerald Hill. It was only a quarter-mile long, but it was a tough climb. When we drove up it in the car we drove behind the mansion for parking. The grade in the front of the mansion was much, much steeper. The guy ahead began to walk as we hit the steep part. I yelled for him to keep going. We were so close to the end! He couldn't walk now! He tried to run, then started to walk again. I was wheezing as I went by, but I shouted one more round of encouragement. It must have gotten through because he began to run again and even produced a little sprint to the line that got him past me.

Me chasing this guy up Emerald Hill

photo by APSU

     I was pumped with 8th overall and a time of 21:37. That was just three seconds slower than my second-fastest 5K ever and this was by far the toughest course I have ever raced. I blew out all my expectations. Then when awards were announced I found out that I won the 25-29 age group! Win #2 of the year! I came up just a few seconds short of being the top Alumni finisher as well. So, I would say I am right on track for Rudolph. The sub-20 is possible for me and I'm going to do my best to make it this year.

     Another cool thing about this run was seeing a former patient doing her first 5K since ACL surgery. I did physical therapy with her for months, then trained her for a few more weeks after her insurance ran out so she could get her full leg strength back and return to running. It was so good to see her running. She really has worked hard to recover from the ACL and I am heppy to have been able to assist her in the process. She even took third in her age group! Nice job Aubrey!

Aubrey and her family coming up Emerald Hill

photo by APSU

     Later that same day, I went out for a mountain bike ride on my trail to spin my legs out. I felt great after the run, but a few hours later the muscle soreness was already setting in. Before I even got to the woods my cable stop popped off the seatstay on my Titus Racer-X. The rivets had broken. I tried to find the cable stop, but the grass and leaves in the yard were too deep. I went ahead and rode a lap anyway, on what was now a tough singlespeed. Without a cable stop the housing and cable are free to get as much slack in them as they want, sending you to the smallest cog you have. I made a lap, but the big gear made my legs feel worse, so I called it a day. Now I'm awaiting a replacement cable stop so I can re-rivet it to the frame. I've never done this before. I'm hoping the carbon seatstay will hold up to my rivet gun.

    The Remedy is now my go-to bike with the Racer-X out of commission. I had panned to do a practice XC race on the trail on Halloween, but I got called into work. It was crappy weather anyway, so waiting until Sunday turned out to be a better choice. I had good legs and kept the big Remedy rolling for four laps on Sunday morning. I still feel like I'm getting stronger. It may be the off-season, but I'm treating it like the on-season with these practice races. I have done two more cross practice races as well since my last blog. Shannon even did one with me for her first time ever encountering so much grass and dismounting for barriers. I was mean and even made her do my stair run-up! I'm getting much more comfortable on the cross bike and feel strong on the power sections.

     Now on to the part about life. I have not updated everyone on things outside the bike lately. Really, the only non-bike thing we have going on right now is work. We continue to look for a house, but that search has turned up nothing affordable at this point. As for work, like I mentioned earlier, I've been called in and out several times recently. I expected to be called in, but not called out. One of my bosses has cancelled on me quite often in recent weeks. It is irritating because the cancel usually comes so late that I cannot find another place to work at for that day. He always says "It's nothing personal" when he calls to cancel me. I never would have taken it personal, but the constant comments have made me start to believe that he is trying to convince himself that it's not personal. I'm kind of thinking it is because there is usually a comment about me racing or taking a trip thrown in there as well. At first, I could not figure out how he knew so much about my life outside of work. Then it dawned on me. We have been Facebook friends for a long time. He never comments on my posts so I forgot we were friends. I don't post a lot on Facebook, but apparently everything I did post was being used against me by this guy. I solved that problem with a simple delete. I can't be having spies from a company that thinks riding bikes in my free time causes me to lose focus at work.

     I have been keeping busy with other jobs as well. I'm still helping out with unloading and packing the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough for school fundraisers. My Mom is still managing the deliveries for them. Now that the school year is in full swing, the orders are coming in steadily. I do it mostly to help my Mom as she needs the extra hands, but the job also pays very well and is flexible too. I have been able to work around my physical therapy job and my training. Some days I even manage to work at both places in the same day if I work things out just right.

     I may be staying busy with work and training, but my family is convinced I am a bum. I think my only supporter in racing these days is Shannon. My Dad and grandmother are convinced that I am throwing my life away. I might could see their side a little better if I was not working at all, but I am always taking work that comes my way. I actually work quite often, though it does not add up to full-time. They will not be satisfied until I'm back to full-time. And maybe not even then.

     My Dad is a work-aholic. He believes in making the most money you can at every opportunity you get so you can plan for the future. He has had several talks to me about how much of a bad decision I am making. While I appreciate that he cares about my well-being I wish he could see that I have a great opportunity ahead of me. It is because of him and the things he taught me about hard work and managing money that have created this opportunity. Shannon and I have put ourselves in a great position. We have no debt. Our expenses are low enough that one full-time check more than covers our bills. And, while trying to run some of the top races in the country is not cheap, we manage to hold a reasonable budget that does not affect our life outside the bike. My Dad would be amazed if he actually sat down and looked at how we budget. We did not just make this decision overnight. It came after much planning, praying, calculating, and recalculating. All too often we as people get caught up in planning for the future. I'm well aware that money is necessary to build your life, but it should not dominate your life. Some days I wish my Dad could see what I see. I am soooooo much happier now than I was a year ago. We may have a little less money, but I don't miss it. Not one bit.

    Grandma, on the other hand, just thinks bikes are for kids and I should have grown out of that already. I just want to know where it is written that there are proper ages for sports. I don't think it's written anywhere. Returning to full-time would do nothing for changing how she views me. After all, she has always considered my cousin to be the example of how my sister and I should be. My cousin who dropped out of school, had a baby with some random guy and smoked during her full pregnancy. Yeah, that's not my kind of example.

     I had a hard time with reducing my work hours when we first made this change. I felt bad that Shannon was having to go to work while I went out and rode my bike. I really did struggle with that for several months, even with Shannon constantly telling me that is what she wanted me to do. Then one day during the summer, a comment from a rider at a local group ride that was aimed at being hurtful turned my thinking around. The rider asked me, "How does it feel to see a rider like Nate Brown, who has real talent, riding in the Vuelta while you are still riding here?" At that moment, all I could say was that it was awesome to see Nate riding in the Vuelta. Later, I thought about why exactly did Nate and I end up going such different routes. Here's my conclusion.

     If you don't know much about Nathan Brown, I'll give you some background. We were teammates as Juniors on two different teams. Nate is a great guy and a Tennessee boy like me. I enjoyed racing with him in our early years. He was younger than me by a few years, but he was strong. I remember once in a road race in Leipers Fork, TN, we planned to break away from the Cat. 3 race together. Nate attacked first, then a few miles later I attacked and bridged across to him. We had a nice gap for a few miles, but then Nate was so strong on the hills that I could not follow him. I told him to keep going while I fell back to the pack. He stuck the break and won solo that day. I was happy to be a part of such an impressive victory, even if I only helped out for a few miles.

     Nate and I were both selected to the Southeast Regional Junior Team one of my last years as a Junior. I can't remember exactly which year, either 2003 or 2004. The team was to go race a big Junior event in Massachusetts, the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic, before heading north to Canada for the Tour de l'Abitibi, which is a major international stage race for Juniors. The team director did not like it that I raced mountain bikes as he felt that it hindered my road racing. He suggested I stop mountain biking. I am a mountain biker through and through so that was not an option for me. Besides, I was dominating every Junior race I started that year, mountain bike oand road. Why change a good thing? Four days before Fitchburg, my parents received a phone call telling them that I was cut from the team. The reason? Because I raced a mountain bike race the weekend before. I was pissed! Heck, we all were pissed. That was a terrible reason. My parents were literally minutes away from buying me non-refundable plane tickets. I think my Dad would have had wrung that director's neck if he had bought those tickets.

     The team did not replace me. They started Fitchburg one rider short of a full team. That told me they did it simply to prove a point. That was the closest I have ever come to having an opportunity to make myself known in the bike world. It was a chance to race on a bigger stage and meet the people that mattered. While Nate's dad, Dave Brown, felt that I had been wrongfully cut, he would not stand up for me. He wanted Nate to get that opportunity. Dave told me that it is not about how well you ride, it's about who you know. He did everything he could to put Nate in contact with the right people. Dave's words are sad, but true. I've been passed over for several team selections for someone that was slower than me, yet was known by the people making the selection. Nate stayed in the right circles and made his way to Europe and now races professionally for Garmin-Sharp. He rode his first Grand Tour this past August in the Vuelta a Espana. Dave's hard work for his son has truly paid off and I am happy for both of them.

     While Nate worked his way through the ranks, I tried to do the same while also making a life for myself. I believe in planning for the future. Bike racing is not for life. You simply can't make enough money doing it to last you until retirement unless you go win the Tour de France a few times. And an injury can end your career within the blink of an eye. So, I went to college to ensure my future would go on with or without bike racing. I have two degrees now. I worked hard during the first one, taking the full 18 hours of classes while working two jobs on the side and still racing Pro in the biggest mountain bike races on the east coast. When I look back at it, I am amazed that I raced so well. I had little time to train with my crazy school and work schedule, but I wanted it badly and my results showed that. And I was no slouch in school either. I give it my all at everything I do. It's just wasting your time if you do something without giving it 100% effort. I graduated with a 3.96 GPA and won the Health and Human Performance Department Award. It makes me laugh every time I see a college bragging about their football team's average GPA of 2.7. I managed to have a high GPA, work and race Pro. Football players can do it too. Good grades really are not that difficult to achieve. It just takes a little work. The second degree was much tougher and the bike was forced to take a backseat. After that degree, I got a job and resumed racing. I eventually met Shannon, we got married and started building our life together.

     So, while most aspiring young cyclists forego a college education, or take minimal hours in school while not working to take their shot at a Pro career, I built my life. At my age now, 28, most people think you have missed your opportunity to go Pro. I think my opportunity is just arriving. I am a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason." All the hard work with school and work has not only put us in the financial situation to actually attempt this, but it also has changed me. My personality, work ethic and general outlook have all changed greatly from what they were a few years ago. If I had gone after cycling at 19 years old, I highly doubt I would be who I am today. My time is just arriving. This is the time that has been prepared for me to get my chance. While it may be later than most riders, it has come nonetheless. My goal is not to become some Tour de France rider or a highly-paid Pro in Europe. My goal is just to reach my maximum potential. I know I can go so much farther than I have pushed myself up to this point and I want to reach that top. Whether that top is racing cyclocross in Europe alongside Sven Nys or just being competitive in the Pro/1/2/3 race at the Music City Crits. races does not matter. All that matters is that I reach my full potential and take full advantage of this opportunity I have been given.

     As for the talk about "real" talent, I think that is a bunch of crap. Sure, some people have more "talent" than others. They seem to gain fitness or skills a bit faster than others. But in the end, it always comes down to hard work. It's who wants it more. So, to answer your question Mr. Local Douchebag Rider, it feels pretty damn good to watch Nate race the Vuelta and look at where I am. Because I'm right where I am supposed to be.

A Tale of Two Days

     It was a week of feeling sick following Race to the Canal. I actually got worse in the following days. Monday was an awful day. I was working with my Mom unloading cookie dough at a school in Nashville and it was all I could do to get through the day. My upper traps were still spasming from all the coughing in the race, I had a massive headache and I was very nauseous. I made it through the work day and slept all afternoon. I felt better after the nap, but was still not right. The spasms and nausea went away, but I still had headaches and felt very weak. The only good thing that happened during the week was that I cleared all that excess fluid I was carrying at Race to the Canal. I did not drink water for three days and still went to the bathroom every hour. I dropped eight pounds between the end of the Race to the Canal and the following Saturday morning!

     I felt better on Friday when I rode a few laps on my trail. That gave me hope that I could still achieve my goal on Saturday at the Lock 4 Six Hour Challenge. I wanted to make eight laps in the six hours. I wasn't concerned so much about finish position, more on my own goal. Eight laps usually wins so if I could do that, I would surely be in the running for a top spot.

     The six hour has been my nemesis over the years. Four times I have raced it and four times I have been plagued by back pain, sickness and mechanical issues. Last year was my best effort when I made seven laps after breaking a pedal and then bonking hard. Actually, my complete track record at Lock 4 is up and down. I seem to either win or finish in the back. There hasn't been much in between for me since I first raced here way back in 2000.

     My first hurdle of the day was the start. I seem to always be in the back early on. I run more than most of the riders at the race, but I always seem to get destroyed on the opening run to the bikes. I can hammer out 3-10 miles with ease, but sprinting on feet is not my specialty.

     I got in a great warm-up and started on the front row. The horn sounded and we sprinted toward the bikes like it was a dash-for-cash. To my surprise, I was one of the first people to the bikes. We did a short lap around the peninsula for a start loop, then entered the woods. I managed to hold my spot on the start loop, then gain a spot just before we went into the singletrack. I was sitting in 7th overall. That was way better than my normal midpack start.

Me on the start loop

    I immediately settled into my all-day pace. I kept several strong riders in sight and actually pulled away from those behind. David Carpenter went off the front early, digging very hard for the start of such a long race. It didn't take long for Craig Evans to bridge across to him. I was not concerned at this point. It was a long, long day.

     Tim Baker got on my wheel early and we rode together for the first half of the race, talking and just keeping each other focused on the task ahead. He was nursing a sore back and was unsure how many laps he would do beyond four today. We were fast on the momentum sections and slowly gained on those ahead. By the end of lap 1, we were 4th and 5th overall. Third place was the first team rider so only two ahead of us were in Solo. Craig and David put in a blazing lap time of 39:56 with the start loop included. That is full-on XC pace! Tim and I clocked a 42:13, which was well ahead of the 45-minute lap needed to make eight laps inside the six hours. We also collected Jonathan Womack near the end of the lap to boost our group to three.

     Our three-man train rolled on through lap 2. We dropped a few seconds with a lap time of 42:26, but we were still gaining on that 45-minute average. The pace felt very easy to me. I was on cruise and just enjoying the ride with Tim. Jonathan passed us at the start of lap 3, then dropped his chain a few miles in and rejoined the back of our train. We clicked off 42:44 this lap, still gaining time overall. Craig was pulling away out front. He had dropped Carpenter and was holding his pace at around 40 minute laps. I was still content to let him go. My goal was to make my last two laps my best of the day. I wanted to close hard and fast today.

     My legs had other plans though. On lap 4, I began to fade. I was just overall tired. The legs burned. I never felt like I bonked, but by the end of the lap, I was weak as could be. I guess the sickness was not through with me just yet. Jonathan left Tim and I when I rammed into another rider who stopped right in front of us on a climb. We lost a lot of time on lap 4, slowing down to a 46:14. It was mentally crushing to already be over 45 minutes for a lap, even if our average was still on pace for eight laps. I had to stop at the end of this lap and just take a break. I ate some food, had some fluids and then took off after standing in the pit for four minutes. Tim's back was hurting, but he kept going and was now ahead of me on course.

    I spent the first few minutes of lap 5 trying to gain on Tim. I felt like I was pushing hard, but I was still losing time at all my splits on course. Finally, the legs gave out and I was reduced to a slow roll. I clocked a 59:05 this lap, including my four minutes of rest. I stopped again at the pit, this time for a full-on rest in the chair. I had more food, some juice and a Monster. I sat 15 minutes this time, watching the muscles in my legs twitch. Craig came by to lap me. He looked tired, but was still holding at just over 40-minute laps.

     I was back to 8th in Solo as I started lap 6. I had now given up on eight laps. I was too far behind to make a comeback. The first half of this lap was terrible and I lost another spot to 9th. I just tried to enjoy the faster sections and get through the climbs. I may have felt bad, but I still had hope for one final push on the last lap. I was not about to just give up. Near the end of lap 6, I started to feel better and began gaining speed. This lap was a 1:05:07 with my rest break. I did not stop at the pit this time, opting to get going on this last lap to finish strong like I originally planned.

     Lap 7 went well. I steadily gained strength over the lap and picked up a spot to finish 8th. I had a good duel for that position that lasted about three miles. It was like a slow-motion fight. I had a good time racing the guy and was glad to finally get the best of him at the end. It was my best finish time here for seven laps, so I guess it would be my best performance. I was only disappointed by one thing. The results showed I was just 7:15 off fourth place, which was the last money position. If I had rested just a little less I might could have been on the podium! But then again, I needed that rest to be able to crank out that final lap time of 45:24. Tim was actually the guy who took fourth. I am pumped for him because I know how hard he worked and deserved the podium. His back hurt all day and he still hung in there and made seven laps. Nice job Tim! Craig held some fast lap time all day to end of winning the race. The top three completed eight laps. Shannon did a little filming which is posted below.

We brought our "pit pumpkin" to the race today just because. Grown in our own backyard.

Lock 4 Six Hour Challenge video

     After the race, recovery mode began so I could be ready for part two of my crazy double-header weekend. Sunday was the Cross the Farm Cyclocross in Whites Creek, TN, not far from our house. I was going to do two races just to make my feat that much more challenging. The race took place on Bert Hartman's farm, the Hungry Gnome Farm.

     I had the early race for Singlespeed, then also had the last race of the day for Pro/1/2. I was not expecting much today. I just wanted to give it my all and finish both races. My legs were not that bad in the Singlespeed race. The course was brutal with climbing. The first half of the loop was mostly uphill on grass with several steep pitches. Then it turned to woods for some doubletrack and even a little singletrack. The woods area was my best section because there was the singletrack, along with a run-up that was definitely going to be rideable for me and also a pair of big logs that I could bunny-hop. After the woods came another long grass climb before a fast descent that led you onto a flat grassy finish straight.

Cross the Farm race course from my GPS. Course went counter-clockwise.

     I was last off the start in Singlespeed, but rode my own race. I had no choice, but follow my pace. I could barely turn the gear on the steep climbs so I had to save myself on the flats in order to be able to ride the hills. Everybody started fast, but I started closing the gap down in the woods the first time through. Hopping the logs was not faster than running, but it did help you carry momentum into the following downhill which did wind up being faster in the end. I had a good battle with Patrick Walle on lap 2, then finally got rid of him starting lap 3. Steve Bivens was just ahead and I gave it everything to catch him on lap 3, which wound up being the last lap in our 30 minute race. I almost rode the full run-up, but stalled out right at the top. I came up just a few bike lengths short of catching Steve. I thought I was off the podium, but it turns out that Steve was in 2nd. So I finished 3rd! That was better than I ever expected.

On the start line for Singlepseed

Me and Steve Bivens talking before the start

Singlespeed underway

Me near the back on the start

On the finish straight during the Singesepeed race

     I hung out on the course all afternoon watching the other races. David Jones and I went to the run-up to scope out lines and heckle. People were handing out $1 hand-ups on the run-up, but the riders were too focused to see the money. I just kept hoping they would hand out money in my race. I will take it!

     I was about worn down by the time the Pro race finally came around. It was over 80 degrees, which is hot for cyclocross. Again, I was slow off the start, but I kept hammering away the full 60 minutes. Pacing was the name of the game. Lap times fell off in big chunks after halfway. Whoever could hold their pace best would win. Shannon Williams jumped out to the early lead, joined by Michael Edens, Patrick Harkins and Josh Lewis. Harkins had mechanical issues early and dropped out, while Edens blew up a short time after. I caught Thad Hoffman and we began to work together to catch the lead group. I took a dollar from the crowd every lap the first half of the race. At least I was going to make something today! One of the dollars was taped to a skeleton that was on the back of Nathan Stone as he ran around the course heckling us.

Nathan and his skeleton

     After three laps, it was Williams and Lewis out front. Thad and I came through next about 20 seconds behind. I dropped Thad on the steepest of the climbs the next lap, then sat out by myself for a few laps before finally catching Lewis. I rode the run-up every lap except one. I was making up big time there every lap. That's where I caught Lewis and went right by at the top. He hung with me for a while, then I finally shelled him with three laps to go. Now only Williams was ahead. My seat broke with two and half laps left. The right rail just snapped right off. It was floppy, but still rideable so I pressed on.

     Williams seemed to be pulling away. I had nothing left in the tank to up my pace any at all. My legs were going to die right at the finish with the pace I was running. All I could do was hold my pace and hope he faded. I was 40 seconds behind starting the last lap. But I could tell that he was closer on the first climb than the previous lap. Once I topped the climb, I gave it everything I had the rest of the way. I obliterated the run-up and got some encouragement at the top by a spectator who said I could catch him if I held that speed. At first I thought, "Yeah right," then I saw Williams as we exited the woods. He was no more than 15 seconds ahead! He saw me coming and had enough kick left up the final hill to hold me off. I ended with a sprint and came up just 10 seconds short of a win. What a day! I had so much fun and far exceeded any expectations I had coming into this race. I got so much encouragement from the group today. Never have I had this much support from people in the Nashville area. It felt good. I think they could see how hard I was trying and at the same time see how much fun I was having out there. I was definitely stronger today than I was the previous day at Lock 4. It's funny how the legs can recover like that sometimes. This cross race was definitely one of my top performances of the year, maybe even my best. I'm still running on a little of that attitude I got back in the summer at the Music City Crits.

My broken seat rail

     I have a little break from racing now. I have been running again so there's a few 5Ks on my schedule in the coming months and more cyclocross. Until then, it will be more training in the Fall foliage and more building on the trails at home. I want to build more freeride trails at home to really challenge my skills. That means bigger jumps and bigger drops. I hope to race an Enduro sometime next year and I don't plan on racing it like a newbie. Thanks for reading!

Potbelly

     Each year after Utah, I come back pumped to build some new trails and features on my trail and explore some new places in this area. A few days of doing that reminds me that this place is not Utah. The roads just aren't as fun and building trails by hand isn't quite as fast and easy as I imagined. I always get in a few good rides, then quickly taper off as mentally I just get bored at home. I lose my desire to ride and everything falls apart. Its sort of the "post-Utah blues."

     I fought the blues this year as much as I could. I did slack some, but not as much as in the past. Ten straight days of rain made it even easier to just sit on the couch, but I snapped myself out of the funk and got outside. Rain makes mud. Mud makes for good practice, so I busted out the old cross bike for the first time in three years and made myself a course in my parents' backyard. I added a few new pieces of trail to mix things up. The fresh dirt got really rutted, but that was a good challenge. Cross courses get sloppy and rutted. It is rare that you get to simulate that kind of slop at home. I resurrected my old stair run-up in the woods and even added in a new off-camber turn and run-up that would make me dismount on my opposite side. Being able to dismount on either side is a good skill to have. You always want your body to be on the inside of the turn and bike on the outside. That keeps your bike away from course tape while also allowing to take the shortest route around the turn and gives you the option to grab the tree or stake on the inside of the turn to help sling you around while maintaining foot traction.

     I got in three full days of cross practices on three different courses. It sure is nice to have those kinds of resources at my disposal. I have had to work for them, but it is well worth all the effort. The three days of cross were the only days of intensity I got in for the first few weeks after Utah. I feel my endurance is great, but the lack of intensity has knocked my top-end speed down a little. My only other rides lately have been road rides at moderate pace exploring the local backroads as the leaves begin to change.

More full moon night rides

Fall riding

Best kind of sign you can find while out exploring

In Utah, I saw Jens, Horner and Danielson painted on the road. In Tennessee, it's all about Boogie. Whoever that is.

     My first race of the Fall was the Race to the Canal up in Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. It's always one of my favorite races. It has an epic point-to-point course that is almost all singletrack. In the past, there have been good quality Pro and Cat. 1 fields. And it's always colorful with Fall foliage. My plan this year was to ride the Scarecrow Century in Mt. Pleasant, TN the day before the race. It wouldn't be smart for my legs come Sunday, but I have always wanted to ride the Scarecrow course. It was supposed to feature a tough climb midway through the 100-mile loop that was a local Strava battleground. I decided against going once I read there would be a new course this year. All excitement was gone. Better to save the legs for Sunday now.

     I was alone for this race as Shannon went home to visit the family and go to the Chicago temple with Jenna, who was about to get married. Her wedding was going to be in New Mexico so we wouldn't be able to attend. It was the only chance Shannon would get to see Jenna beforehand. My parents were supposed to come, but ten minutes before the start I had not seen them. They rolled up right before the start, so at least I had someone to feed me.

    It was a cool morning, but the temp rose quickly. It was already tolerable in shorts at the start. I had been feeling a bit weird the past two days. My stomach had hurt and I felt weak. I never got sick, but I felt heavy. I had eaten some salty snacks during the week so I attributed the feeling to just a little water retention from extra sodium. I felt good in my warm-up and didn't think much else about my stomach until later.

     The Pro class had two riders in it besides myself. Higher entry fees, poor race promotion and the popularity of cyclocross has caused turnout to dwindle in recent years. I remember racing here with 12+ Pros my first year in Pro/Semi-Pro. I let the other two go into the woods in front. It was a mass start of all Pro and Cat. 1 riders, but everyone pretty much went into the woods grouped up by class. I could tell right away that I did not have good legs. I got gapped up the first small hill, but then rode smoothly down the following descent to stay with the front two. On the first big climb, they left me and I lost several positions. It was clear that my legs were going to be slow today. I just held my steady pace and waited for my legs to come around. I figured I would feel good after an hour or so. The race is long, usually taking just under three hours to complete the 36 miles from the Golden Pond Planetarium to the Canal. That's plenty of time for legs to make a change.

Pro and Cat. 1 start

Turning into the singletrack

     Dustin Burkeen of Wood-N-Wave and I rode together early on. He was racing Cat. 1. He was frustrated at times that the others were pulling away and that we kept getting sticks caught in our derailleurs. I just told him to relax. It was a long day. Sticks were everywhere. Everybody would get a stick stuck in their derailleur today. It was just going to happen. If we stayed steady, we would catch back up. Sure enough, things came back together. It wasn't how I expected, but we did catch back up. The leaders were missing turns. The course was not well marked with race arrows, but the North-South does feature good signage. The front four or five riders were simply not looking around at all.

     It was like a broken record early on. Burkeen and I got gapped on the hills, then caught back up when the leaders missed a turn. Seriously, it happened at least four times in the first 10 miles. On the last big climb before the road crossing at Sugar Bay, I got away from Burkeen and tried to bridge to the leaders on a fire road. Suddenly, the road didn't look right. I knew we were off course, but I hadn't see anything that looked like a turn. I told the guys in our group to go back. Only one of the four turned around with me. We eventually found the turn. A tree had fallen across the trail and kept it from looking like a trail entrance off the fire road. The tree also blocked the sign post from that direction. We lost about three minutes, but were back on course. Burkeen made the turn and was now out front by two minutes at Sugar Bay, 13 miles into the race.

     The two other Pros did not turn around so I was now leading. I don't know how far they went before they found the course, but I led for quite a while. The section between Sugar Bay and Duncan Bay is my least favorite section. I just wanted to get to Duncan without being more than a minute behind. You hit three big climbs right when you leave Sugar. I was struggling. My legs were burning and weak. I felt like a manatee as well. My stomach was not working at all. Everything I ate and drank just sat in my gut. I felt like I had a huge, bulging potbelly. It was terrible! My lungs were also not cooperating. I almost felt like I had asthma. I couldn't breathe enough to hold my normal race heart rates.

     I was creeping along, but to my surprise I was still out front of the Pro class at Duncan Bay. Lee Hauber finally caught me on the next climb after Duncan with 18 miles to go. I was much closer to the lead than expected at this point, but I was feeling worse instead of better. I stopped drinking and eating for a while to try to allow my slow-poke stomach to empty. It helped some, but then I had to eat again or risk bonking hard before the finish. The breathing was getting worse. At one point just after Birmingham Ferry I was coughing so hard that my upper traps both began to spasm. It was like my body was just falling apart out there. I was so slow the next few miles. I had to granny-ring all the climbs. I couldn't even get my heart rate over 145 in the section between Pisgah Bay and the Hillman Ferry Campground. Still, nobody caught me and I remained in 2nd.

Me nearing the end of the North-South Trail with about 6 miles to go.

     After Hillman, I began to feel a little better. My stomach was still bloated, but my legs were better and my lungs were improving. I started to gain some speed over the final 11 miles. The closer I got to the finish, the more nervous I got that Joe Williams would catch me and take 2nd place away. That fear kept me pushing hard and I was flying by the finish. I even set PRs on the last few climbs as I could finally get the heart rate up into the 170s again. I had a strong finish, enough to hold onto 2nd. I finished with a 3:07:02, some 15+ minutes off the winner, but still well ahead of third. It was awesome to feel so good at the end. I know my endurance is there, even on bad days. When I got home I got on the scale to see how much water/food I was retaining. I weighed eight pounds more than I did earlier in the week. That's a lot of weight to be hauling around for 36 miles!

     The race attendance may be dwindling and the crowd less enthusiastic than in the past, but I still love that race. The course is so fun to ride, even when you feel bad. I had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back and ride the trail again soon.

     I have finally edited and posted the highlights from my Gateway Cup races, shot with my handlebar cam. They were all very exciting races. I will be watching the full versions on the trainer this winter for sure! You can watch the highlights by looking back through the blogs (Gateway to Fast Racing/ Getting There!) or by going to my YouTube page.

     There will not be a Utah video this year. We did not film enough to make a full video. Everything we shot has already been posted in the Utah blogs. If you like videos then you are still in luck. I have found a few interesting ones lately and have posted them below. The first is a video of extreme toy mountain biking. It is a clever video set up just like a freeride mountain bike video in every aspect, from the soundtrack to the filming styles. Only the riders in this video are Lego men. Somebody spent a ton of time on this thing! The second video is from Danny MacAskill. Any video Danny makes is stunning and this is no exception. Enjoy!

Video: Extreme Toys Mountain Biking

Video: Danny MacAskill's "The Ridge."